Stained Glass in Wales

Stained glass is a term commonly used to describe a range of techniques for decorating and making images with coloured glass, usually for windows. The technique of silver staining glass is often used in conjunction with painting in black or brown on plain and coloured glass.

The techniques most familiar to us were discovered in the middle ages, but these skills were neglected during the course of the sixteenth century. Until the nineteenth century, windows were usually painted with enamels and became a predominantly painted art.

This changed in the mid-nineteenth century with the advent of the Gothic Revival, and the rediscovery of the artistry of the medieval craftsmen resulted in the production of thousands of stained glass windows for churches in a way that defines modern perception of the art.

Over the last fifty years artists working with glass have taken the use of glass in new directions for a wide range of interior and exterior architectural contexts.

This catalogue draws together hundreds of examples of the art in Wales from the fourteenth century up to the present day. These examples are searchable by date, artist, subject and location, listing about 1,800 windows with over 5,000 photographs from about 350 sites across Wales.

Although this database is not a complete inventory of such material, it is hoped that it will form the basis for further investigation and research, as well as future publications.

Please use the Quick Search box above to enter a search term, or click on the Search tab above for more accurate searches. Click on the Browse tab above to browse through artists and makers, subjects, and locations.